Speakers

Kenton Allen is the CEO of Big Talk Productions – one of the UK’s leading film and television production companies, winner of Best Independent Production Company at the 2017 Broadcast Awards. Kenton is a multi-award-winning producer who holds the record for most individual awards for Situation Comedy in the history...more

David Alpert is a prolific producer, with television credits including The Walking Dead, and its companion series, Fear The Walking Dead, Outcast, Five Year, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and the upcoming AMC comic docu-series Robert Kirkman’s Secret History of Comics.

His film credits include producing the upcoming adaptation of the...more

Helen Asimakis was appointed Senior Director, Drama, CBC Scripted Content in October 2013. She leads the team responsible for managing the creative development and production of CBC Television’s slate of dramatic programming including: Anne, Bellevue, Pure, Murdoch Mysteries, Heartland, X Company, This Life, Romeo Section, Shoot the Messenger and the upcoming limited series...more

Stefanie Berk serves as the Executive Vice President of Scripted Programming and Development for FremantleMedia North America (FMNA). Berk was responsible for bringing American Gods to the company, the hit show that airs on STARZ and is based on Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novel. With Berk serving as an executive producer,...more

Debra Birnbaum is an accomplished editor with over 20 years of experience covering news and entertainment. She's the executive editor, TV, at Variety, overseeing all television coverage for the trade magazine’s multiple platforms, including the weekly print edition, Variety.com, and special awards season issues. As the President/Editor-in-Chief of TV Guide...more

Christina Davis is a television and production executive with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. In September 2017, Davis launched television production company Maniac Productions with writer-producer Michael Seitzman, based at ABC Studios.

Dustin Davis just expanded his duties to become Head of Comedy Development and Current Programming for the platform. He joined YouTube Red as Head of Current Series a year ago from ABC Network where he oversaw shows such as Black-ish, Happy Endings and Last Man Standing. As YouTube broadens its...more

Sandra Dewey is president of Studio T and TBS & TNT Business Operations. Her role encompasses not only production and business affairs for the top-rated TNT and TBS cable networks, but also business affairs for Cartoon Network, truTV, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and several other brands within the Turner portfolio....more

Rebecca Eaton took the helm of the PBS series MASTERPIECE THEATRE and MYSTERY! in 1985, and later oversaw a highly successful relaunch of MASTERPIECE which attracted a new generation of viewers. She has brought American audiences Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, the recent hits Victoria, Sherlock, Poldark, Downton Abbey — the...more

Lisa Fahrenholt currently serves as the Acquisitions Director for Endemol Shine International. In her role, Lisa is responsible for sourcing and evaluating third party acquisitions and co-financing opportunities for both scripted and unscripted programs across all genres, throughout the United States and Canada.

Brad Gardner is Senior Vice President of Development and Original Programming, overseeing scripted series for Paramount Network (premiering in January 2018) and TV Land. Among the high-profile scripted projects Gardner is working on for Paramount are Yellowstone, starring world-renowned actor and Oscar®-winner Kevin Costner and written and directed by critically-acclaimed,...more

Alan Gasmer is an Executive Producer of the award-winning History Channel series Vikings, now in its fifth season. As a principal in the entertainment management company Alan Gasmer & Friends and the newly formed Veritas Entertainment Group, Gasmer executive produces You Me Her, the DirecTV comedy that’s going into its...more

Jeff Gaspin is the President of Primary Wave Entertainment (PWE) where he oversees a diverse, combined television series portfolio of unscripted and scripted programming across multiple genres. While building the company’s television and digital assets, Gaspin will work to develop and produce programing across multiple linear and non-linear platforms and...more

Chris serves as Gimlet’s Head of Multiplatform, in which capacity he leads all aspects of Gimlet’s multimedia business across TV, film, literature, and VR. He additionally assists Gimlet’s editorial leadership with development of scripted audio programming as well as audio platform originals, such as the Spotify exclusive MOGUL.

Jonathan is currently supervising producer and a writer for the new HBO drama, Succession, created by Jesse Armstrong and executive producer, Adam McKay. He is also executive producer and a writer for Bliss, created by David Cross for Merman, Big Talk and Sky TV. In addition, he is writing a...more

Jeremy Gold is co-President of Blumhouse Television. In this role, alongside co-President Marci Wiseman, he is charged with growing the footprint of Blumhouse’s independent television studio, managing its portfolio of scripted, unscripted TV series (including documentary films), supervising creative development and production and overseeing distribution strategies across all platforms.

A true crossover literary agent, Mike Goldberg plays an integral role in APA’s motion picture and television literary departments, where he strives to capitalize on the next wave of media consumption beyond traditional platforms. His numerous clients include writer Derek Kolstad, whose John Wick film franchise has grossed well over...more

Dana Gotlieb-Carter is the VP Scripted Development and Current at MTV, where she has covered shows such as Teen Wolf, Awkward, Scream, Finding Carter, Faking It, and Loosely Exactly Nicole. Previously, Dana worked in Comedy Development at ABC Studios and Current Series at ABC Network.

Michael Green is a television and film writer and producer. In 2017, in addition to his work on Blade Runner 2049, Green wrote the adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, directed by Kenneth Branagh; and co-wrote Alien: Covenant, directed by Ridley Scott, as well as Logan, directed...more

Robin Gurney serves as Senior Vice President, Original Programming for Showtime Networks, Inc. Gurney’s responsibilities include development and creative oversight of SHOWTIME original series, including Twin Peaks, I’m Dying Up Here and Guerrilla and the network’s upcoming series The Chi and Patrick Melrose.

Before being appointed as EVP of Sales and Co-Productions in North America, Sally was most recently VP of International Programming, Operations and Research at A&E Networks. Here she was responsible in developing strategies for ownership, maximising the exploitation of content across branded and third party platforms, development of original programming...more

Samuel Harowitz currently serves as the Vice President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions – North America for FremantleMedia International (FMI). In this role, Harowitz is responsible for sourcing, vetting and acquiring intellectual property, programming and co-production opportunities for development and international distribution.

Harowitz is responsible for forging strategic alliances and maintaining partnerships...more

Gaye Hirsch is Senior Vice President/Head of Scripted Development, The CW, overseeing all of the network’s scripted series development.

Hirsch was previously Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Drama Development for the network and has been closely involved in the development of all of The CW’s scripted series, including THE FLASH,...more

Meg James covers the business of entertainment for the Los Angeles Times with an emphasis in corporate media and television. She has been a member of the LA Times Company Town team focused on Hollywood for more than 15 years. A native of Wyoming, Meg received her degrees from the...more

Tana Nugent Jamieson was named Senior Vice President of A+E Studios, the in-house production arm of the award-winning global media company A+E Networks, in 2014. In this role, she develops original scripted drama programming for the A+E Networks portfolio, including Lifetime and HISTORY, as well as for external studios.

Jocelyn Johnson is a serial entrepreneur having built a successful PR business - JJPR - at age 25 and then launching her second venture in April 2013 at the age of 27, VideoInk - the go-to resource for breaking news and industry analysis related to digital video, video technology, OTT,...more

Jacquie Katz is a TV Literary agent at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Katz works in the Los Angeles office and represents many of the world’s leading TV writers, directors, and producers, including John Wells Productions, Ken Whittingham, and Rolin Jones.

Damian joined Lookout Point as Commercial Director in early 2016. He is responsible for all commercial operations including the funding of the company’s global drama projects for major international broadcasters and digital platforms.

Previously, Damian worked as Head of Drama at BBC Worldwide, where he acquired and championed commercially attractive scripted...more

An Iranian born in Paris, raised in Atlanta, GA and educated in Washington, D.C. and NYC, and currently residing in Los Angeles, Arvand is always one step ahead of the authorities. After graduating from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and the Cardozo School of Law, Arvand started his entertainment...more

Joanna Klein was named Senior Vice President, Scripted Development of Lifetime in August, 2016. In this role, Klein is responsible for developing and overseeing production of all scripted series for the network. Currently, Klein is overseeing production on the psychological thriller YOU, from Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, starring Penn...more

In her role as Vice President, Scripted Content, Kate Kristensen develops and oversees scripted series across the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment portfolio, which includes USA Network, SYFY, E! and Bravo. Based in the Los Angeles office, Kristensen reports to Michael Sluchan, Senior Vice President of Current Scripted Programming and Mini Series,...more

Pippa Lambert is an agent at Endeavor Content, a division of global entertainment leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG). In her role, Lambert focuses on global television sales and packaging on behalf of some of the world’s leading artists and content creators.

Nina Lederman, Executive Vice President of Scripted Programming heads up the newly formed Scripted division of All3Media, working with all of the labels under the All3 umbrella to develop and expand the company’s scripted business in the U.S. Development includes original series, international co-productions, and formats.

Bob Leighton is a Senior TV Executive with close to 40 years of experience in multichannel premium TV.

Bob joined Liberty Global, the world’s largest international broadband cable company with $20+ billion annual revenue from 25+ million subscribers from operations in Europe and Latin America in 2005, and he is currently...more

As Head of Wattpad Studios, Aron Levitz connects the entertainment and publishing industries with new voices and original content created by Wattpad Stars, the biggest influencers on the platform. Leveraging data and community insights, Aron works with the industry to co-produce Wattpad stories for film, television, print and digital formats.

Gabriel Marano was named Senior Vice President, Drama Programming & Development, of Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) in June 2017. In this role, he is responsible for supervising the development and production of new and returning scripted series for the network.

Prior to joining FOX, Marano was Senior Vice President of Drama...more

In her position, McNamara will oversee all current and future original series for the service.

CBS All Access is the CBS Television Network’s digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service. In addition to its original series, which also includes season one of the new edition of “The Good Wife,” “The...more

Clelia is developing scripts with a host of international talent including Aisling Bea, Sarah Kendall and David Cross. She is currently Executive Producing Motherland for BBC 2 by Graham and Helen Linehan, Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh. She recently produced Morgana Robinson’s Summer Short by Sharon Horgan for Sky Arts...more

Carolyn Newman serves as Senior Vice President, Scripted Programming for eOne Television. Based in Los Angeles, Newman focuses on the development of bold and compelling television projects for the independent studio which continues to broaden its scripted television business in the US and around the world. Newman joined eOne from...more

For the past 20 years, Katie has held senior management positions covering all aspects of entertainment television programming. Katie is currently CEO of Platform One Media – a newly launched television production and distribution studio backed by TPG and Liberty Global.

Lucienne Papon serves as Senior Vice President, ITV Studios America. In this role, she is responsible for continued growth in development of the company’s development slate and execution of its programs. Previously, Papon served as Head of Development and Production for Martin Campbell Productions. During her time there she launched...more

Gillian Rose is Senior Vice President, US Sales and Acquisitions, for Sky Vision, the wholly owned production and distribution business of Sky (UK). She joined the company recently and is based in New York. Prior to this she was Managing Director, PBS Distribution, the commercial arm of PBS and WGBH...more

As Vice President, Scripted Production and Programming, Morgana Rosenberg helps oversee scripted development and production for VH1. In the last two years in this position, Morgana helped launched the critically acclaimed TV movie THE BREAKS and its subsequent series as well as DAYTIME DIVAS, which stars Vanessa Williams. Other VH1...more

Brad Rosenfeld joined Abrams Artists Agency at the start of 2015 as the Co-Head of the Literary Department. Abrams provided Brad with the opportunity to work at a larger agency with a strong adult/kids talent, commercial, voiceover, and alternative department, as well as an east-coast office that has one of...more

Whether it was sobbing uncontrollably in a crowded movie theater when he thought (spoiler alert) E.T. was dead, or breaking his father’s spirit so that he could stay up and watch Hill Street Blues, Chris Salvaterra knew from a young age that he wanted to be involved in...more

Award-winning director and showrunner Kari Skogland is CEO of Mad Rabbit, a joint venture between her and Red Arrow Entertainment Group. As CEO, Skogland is committed to producing high-end one-hour dramas for the international market for the company, which launched in Spring 2016.

Steve Stark is President, Television Production & Development of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM). In his role, he is responsible for all scripted content, from concept to production; partnerships with multi-platform broadcasters including network, cable and digital outlets; and development of new productions, including reinvigorating MGM’s stellar library. MGM Television has numerous...more

Philipp Steffens has been Head of Fiction at RTL Television since March 2014 and is responsible for productions including Starfighter, Der Lehrer, Duell der Brüder and the series Deutschland 83, which won a Grimme Award in 2016. Immediately following his graduation from the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in 2006, Steffens started his...more

Quinn Taylor joined Atrium TV as a creative consultant in April 2017. Taylor has more than 25 years of experience in international drama having developed myriad programming including original movies and miniseries as well as long-form acquisitions and drama series.

Sarah Timberman and her Timberman/Beverly Productions partner, Carl Beverly, are currently in production on the first season of their new CBS series, “Seal Team,” starring David Boreanaz. They recently completed the fifth season of their series, “Elementary,” the fourth season of their critically acclaimed Showtime Series, “Masters ofSex” (based on Tom Maier's biography of noted sex researchers William Masters and...more

Jennifer Vasquez currently serves as Senior Director, Scripted Programming, for Lifetime and is responsible for developing, overseeing and launching new series for the network. Her extensive television experience includes over ten years in scripted drama development across all platforms including broadcast, premium, basic cable and streaming.

Simon is the Chairman and Joint CEO of Lookout Point. He has over 30 years’ experience in television, working in a variety of roles including actor, writer, producer, executive producer, distributor and financier.

Simon's distinct creative-business skill set is the foundation behind the company which he established in 2009 to produce...more

Christian Vesper is the EVP and Creative Director, Global Drama at FremantleMedia. He reports to FremantleMedia’s Director of Global Drama, Sarah Doole, and maintains a base in both London and New York. In his role Christian works closely with FremantleMedia’s production companies as a development partner with a focus on...more

Billy Wee is a VP of Original Programming at TBS, where he gets to work with creators like Greg Garcia, Jason Jones, Jordan Peele, and Steve Zissis. Previously he was a producer for 7 years at Happy Madison and DreamWorks, where he developed and produced shows like The Goldbergs, The...more

Piers Wenger was appointed Controller of BBC Drama in late 2016. Prior to this he was Head of Drama at Channel 4, and Head of Drama at BBC Wales. During his time as Head of Drama at BBC Wales, Piers was an executive producer on the hugely successful reboot of Doctor...more

Ricky Whittle was born in Oldham near Manchester in the North of England. His father Harry Whittle was in the RAF which involved travelling to different RAF bases around the world. Therefore, Ricky never settled in one country for longer than three years. A keen sportsman, Ricky excelled in various sports representing his...more

Steve is Head of Programming at Verizon go90 where he oversees more than 1,400 hours of exclusive originals and 25,000 hours of live and linear television content from over 100 partners. Previously he led the multi-channel network (MCN) business, operations, and talent at AwesomenessTV and was the executive producer and...more

Drew Worobow serves as Vice President, Original Programming for IFC. In this role, he is responsible for managing and overseeing all phases of West Coast based development, production, and creative execution of IFC’s growing slate of series. These series currently include Stan Against Evil, and Brockmire.

Elizabeth Yost is the senior vice president of original programming for Crown Media Family Networks, home of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, which is owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc. Yost is based in Los Angeles and reports to Barbara Fisher, senior vice president of programming.